Commercially available laminate flooring (using high or medium density fiberboard or particle board as the core layer) has gained overwhelming success in the flooring market. The growth rate of the laminate flooring has remained in the double digits since the product was introduced in the United States market. The success of this product is credited to certain properties such as stain resistance, wear resistance, fire resistance, good cleanability, and the ability to use just about any type of printed design. In addition, the overall emission of organic compound vapor is low and the laminate flooring is considered color stable and environmentally friendly over other competing flooring products.
The biggest concern with commercially available laminate flooring is the moisture resistance of the finished product and the sensitivity of the raw materials (high or medium density fiberboard, paper, and particle board) to moisture during the manufacturing process. In some instances, the moisture can lead to some serious quality control issues and application restraints. For instance, and just to name a few, the higher moisture content in the product, such as in the particle board or fiberboard, can cause blistering and adhesion failure of the melamine surface to the core. Also, higher moisture contents can lead to dimensional instability of the finished product, which then results in the cupping or doming of the product, which is extremely undesirable, especially when installers are laying down the flooring. Also, excessive moisture contents can create edge peaking due to the swelling of the product and such edge peaking can result in edge chip-off or premature wear-out or can soil more quickly. The susceptibility to moisture content also leads to some installers not wishing to place such laminate flooring in areas which are subject to having water on the surface of the floor, such as in the kitchen and bathroom areas.
The suppliers of such laminate flooring have appreciated the problems associated with their products and have attempted to overcome these problems by developing laminate flooring having better moisture resistance by using melamine, phenolic, or isocyanate binders to partially replace urea resins present in the laminate flooring. While this improvement has made the product more moisture resistant, the current commercially available laminate floorings are still prone to moisture damage. For instance, the thickness swelling of laminate flooring can increase by 10% and water absorbency can exceed more than 15% according to the 24 hours water absorption test. Another attempted solution at reducing the moisture resistance weaknesses of current laminate flooring has led some manufactures to apply a water-repellant material on the upper edges of the tongue and groove areas which further serve to resist any moisture penetration through joints. Still another attempted solution involves applying silicone caulk to seal the edges and voids of the laminate perimeter where the laminate flooring meets the wall. However, if very stringent installation instructions are not followed, the laminate flooring will still be subjected to moisture damage.
Accordingly, there is a need to develop flooring systems which overcome the above weaknesses and disadvantages of current commercially available laminate flooring.
A feature of the present invention is to provide a spline, tongue, connector, snap connector, or other joining system element, herein referred to as a spline, which can be used in a surface covering system and which preferably provides improved moisture resistance and is not susceptible to damage caused by moisture.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a spline for laminate planks and other surface coverings which is economically feasible and permits easy installation and flexibility.
Still another feature of the present invention is to provide a surface covering system which has significant improvements with respect to ease of installation and includes a foolproof installation design and technique.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a surface covering system which avoids the use of a wet adhesive application method.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a flooring system that has great flexibility so as to make various shapes, sizes, and bevel edges.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a flooring system that can alleviate the requirement of installing the plank in a given orientation.
Also, a feature of the present invention is to provide a surface covering system which has the ability to tolerate some imperfections in the sub-floor or substrate and thus avoid telegraphing the imperfections on the surface covering itself.
A further feature of the present invention is to provide a surface covering system which has improved damaged resistance properties, such as improved impact strength and the like, especially in the joint areas.
Additional features and advantages of the present invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the present invention. The features and other advantages of the present invention will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the written description and appended claims.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purposes of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the present invention relates to a spline, tongue, connector, or snap connector for connecting two or more planks together. The spline is preferably made from a polymeric material and has a shape and dimensions such that the spline has a sufficient width to fit into and extend outside of a groove on a side edge of a first plank and also to fit into a respective groove on a side edge of a second plank. The spline may also be shaped such that when the first plank and the second plank are connected together by the spline, the spline is concealed from view.
The present invention further relates to a surface covering system for connecting two or more planks together. The surface covering system involves two or more planks and at least one spline. The planks each have a groove on at least one side edge and the spline is a polymeric material having a shape and dimensions such that the spline has a sufficient width to fit into and extend outside of a groove on a side edge of a first plank and to fit into a respective groove on a side edge of a second plank. The spline may be concealed from view when the first plank and the second plank are connected together by the spline or may be wide enough to show when the first and second planks are connected together.
The present invention further relates to a plurality of planks connected together by one or more splines. Each plank has a groove on at least one side edge thereof and the spline is a polymeric material having a shape and dimensions such that the spline has a sufficient width to fit into and extend outside of a groove located on the side edge of a first plank and to fit into a respective groove located on a side edge of a second plank. The spline, as described above, may be concealed from view when the first plank and the second plank are connected together by one or more splines.
Finally, the present invention also relates to a method to connect two or more planks together and involves inserting one edge of a spline into a groove in one plank and inserting the opposite edge of the spline into a groove on a second plank. The spline is a polymeric material having a shape and dimensions such that the spline has a sufficient width to fit into and extend outside a groove located on a side edge of a first plank and to fit into a respective groove located on a side edge of a second plank. The spline may be concealed from view when the first plank and the second plank are connected together by the spline, or may show through between the planks.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are intended to provide further explanation of the present invention, as claimed.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate several embodiments of the present invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the present invention.